In March 2024, the Duchess of Sussex made an appearance at the SXSW Festival. She was invited to participate in a panel discussion for International Women’s Day. Brooke Shields and Katie Couric were also on the panel. Honestly, there was so much going on in March 2024, I don’t think I even watched the video of the panel discussion at the time (and I still won’t). Apparently, at one point in the discussion, Brooke Shields interrupted Meghan when Meghan was retelling the story of getting Procter & Gamble to change their sexist commercial. Brooke was asked about that moment in a podcast interview, and she said she interrupted Meghan because Meg was being “too precious” and “serious.”
Brooke Shields shared candid remarks about Meghan Markle after the two participated in a panel about women’s empowerment last year, calling the Duchess of Sussex “too precious.” While appearing on the latest episode of India Hicks’ podcast, Shields said Meghan’s story was too “serious,” and she didn’t think her words would resonate with the SXSW audience.
“Katie asks the first question to Meghan and she talks about how at a young age, she was already advocating for women,” Shields said, per The Independent. “She starts telling a story about how when she was 11 – and she keeps saying, ‘Well, when I was 11, I saw this commercial and they were talking about how washing dishes was for women,” Shields told Hicks, who is King Charles’ goddaughter. “And she said, ‘I didn’t think only women wash dishes. It wasn’t fair. So I wrote to the company.’ She kept saying she was 11! She wrote to the company, they changed the text, they changed the commercial. It was just too precious, and I was like, they’re not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious.”
The Mother of the Bride star told Hicks she then interrupted Meghan to try and lighten the tone.
“I go, ‘Excuse me, I’m so sorry, I’ve got to interrupt you there for one minute.’ I was trying not to be rude, but I wanted to be funny because it was so serious,” Shields said.
She then joked to the panel, “I just want to give everybody here a context as to how we’re different. When I was 11, I was playing a prostitute,” referring to her role in 1978’s Pretty Baby.
Shields said “the place went insane” after her quip, and the panel was “more relaxed” after.
I think multiple things can be true at once: Brooke’s interruption probably did lighten the mood of the panel; Brooke interrupted and talked over a woman of color on International Women’s Day, with f–king sucks; Brooke was centering herself like a narcissistic a–hole; Meghan was being a tad repetitive. I also think Meghan’s vibe is so teachery, especially since she’s had kids. The only way I can explain it is that you can tell that she spends a lot of time talking to people under the age of 5. Also: what in the world is Brooke doing on India Hicks’ podcast? No wonder the conversation turned to Meghan.
Here’s the full video of the SXSW panel discussion. You can skip to the 6:15-mark to see Couric ASK Meghan specifically about the commercial, and Meghan answering the question. Brooke’s interruption happens around the 7:20 mark.
Photos courtesy of YouTube screengrabs, Avalon Red.
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- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 23: Brooke Shields arrives at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 968675603, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Brooke Shields, Credit line: Gregg DeGuire/Image Press Agency/Avalon
Yeah, Brooke has always been more than a bit of a mean girl so this tracks
I’m surprised that she didn’t ask India why she stole the Max Mara coat at the airport 😳😳
Just want to flag up that People got this from the Independent, which was snarkier. So not only is India Hicks Charles’ goddaughter, the EiC of the independent is Geordie Greig, a close friend of Camilla’s for decades. He used to work for the Mail publications. This paper does not report on the Sussexes impartially.
Poor Brooke. No one cares about her and it clearly bothers her.
A little sugar on her tongue would help.
Simple. Brooke doesn’t like her. Meghan is eclipsing women like her. Meghan is a princess, Brooke is not. Meghan is popular, Brooke faded and peaked at Blue Lagoon.
Anyone who is mildly critical of Meghan will always have a hearing with the royals and their supporters. Funny how Brooke uses the term “precious.”
I love Meghan, but Brooke is right about the vibe at SXSW — I can see why she wanted to break the ice. It’s less Super Soul Sunday and more fast-paced deal-making. That having been said, it wasn’t her role to try to ‘save’ another woman. Meghan can hold her own.
Meghan was asked a question and answered it. It wasn’t a comedy panel. If Brooke wanted to interrupt and make a funny quip that is fine but bringing the incident up in an interview and referring to Meghan as too precious when all she was doing was answering a question is mean and shows that Brooke is not a girls girl. She knew that saying that would get her mentions all over the uk tabloids. How unkind!
“Too precious” is such a disgusting way to diminish the voice and accomplishments of another woman.
Meghan was invited to speak at the event based on her decades of work and achievements in this field and her ability to reach across and touch the hearts and minds of multiple generations of women.
Meghan was answering a direct question.
Brooke wasn’t saving Meghan. Brooke was CENTERING herself over a much more accomplished black woman who was answering a direct question.
If she had been trying to help, she could have complimented Meghan for being so social justice aware from such a young age and ask her where she felt that came from. And then make a joke about herself at age 11 and saying she could have learned a thing or two from Meghan.
It can be fast paced deal-making, but someone is answering a specific question if they were asked you don’t interrupt to make it about yourself. And it was a serious question on international women’s day why would it need to be less serious? If Brooke wanted to lighten the mood when it was her turn and say well unlike Meghan I wasn’t doing this at 11 I was playing a prostitute to make the crowd laugh and then get into her answer that’s fine. The issue is the approach and the minimization of someone else. I haven’t really seen this anywhere else though, and doing this on a podcast of someone that has repeatedly criticized Megan is definitely a choice. I’m not buying the I wasn’t aware of this excuses anymore they have been going after this woman daily for almost 10 years you would literally have to be living under a rock to not be aware of what they are trying to do when they bring her up.
Firstly from watching the clip it looks like Brooke or someone reporting on the podcast is actually lying because she didn’t interrupt Meghan- looked like Meghan had finished her answer when Brooke went to speak.
So then question is why is Brooke or whoever wanting to project that she interrupted Meghan for being too serious/precious? India Hicks is a goddaughter for Charles I believe &has been the usual royal family defender/meghan critic. Apparently Brooke & India are good friends. So if reports on her comments on the podcast are accurate, I think Brooke has exaggerated the story for a “put Meghan in her place” moment which says a lot about Brooke if she’s playing into that.
Secondly If Brooke did actually interrupt Meghan’s answer (and I cannot see that she did) then it’s poor form. If it was a man interrupting a woman responding to a question that was asked of her because her answer on advocating for gender equity was “too serious” etc i think many would regard it as rude & belittling. And would be especially poor form for a white woman to talk over a woman of colour on an IWD panel talking about women’s representation in media. One that Meghan’s foundation was hosting.
I’m over hearing about that dish washer story too but in this case Meghan was specifially asked so any repetition isn’t on her on this occasion.
Meghan has a lot of great qualities but I would say “storytelling” isn’t one of them.
As someone who used to want to be a comedienne & has taken improv and acting classes, you must be quick, quippy and have a way of grabbing your audiences’ attention in a captivating way. Meghan isn’t great at that. She’s incredibly sincere, a bit dramatic and constantly uses superlatives in her interviews or snippets like this. It’s not wrong or bad, but the audience loses interest and gets exhausted. I recall my teachers advising me against that.
It also depends on your audience and you must know your audience to know how to deliver a performance (or interview in this case) that captivates but also entertains.
And that’s fine but imo it would still be rude to interrupt Meghan in responding to a question that was asked of her especially if she wasn’t a particularly long winded response. And even more so on basis that answer was too serious given the panel was discussing women’s representation in media. It’s fine to have balance & have everyone bring their own personality & perspective- I don’t think it’s cool to talk over someone.
But it doesn’t look like it happened as Brooke or whoever described anyway going from the footage so then the question is why put this out there.
Regardless of Meghan’s storytelling abilities and whether one likes them or not, the issue to me is about why Brooke is now calling it too precious on a uk podcast. It’s Brooke’s opinion and her right to do so but it leaves an ick taste especially considering the panel was for international woman’s day. And even weirder that Dee(2) said above that Brooke possibly didn’t even interrupt Meghan.
Sorry abritguest said that! But either way, I agree with both of their sentiments on this. There’s a weird minimization and reframing of this that is bizarre.
@jais
There’s no “probably didn’t interrupt” here.
NOT INTERRUPTED.
Here’s a video of that moment at the beginning. Watch it and you won’t have to say “probably.”
Thx. I didn’t go back and rewatch but I believe y’all. What a frankly bizarre and unkind narrative to create.
Katie very specifically asked about that moment so yeah Meghan answered her. I did watch the panel but its been a while so I don’t know if Brooke spoke over any of the other women or just Meghan. Sounds like she’s saying that she was trying to break the ice? But I’d imagine there’s also a way to do that without talking over someone and then weirdly still remembering it a year later and bringing it up in a podcast with India Hicks. And at the end of the day talking over what another woman is saying and calling it too precious or serious and not worthy of being heard is a choice, And a kind of gross one. But iirc, I did like a lot of what Brooke had to say during the panel? Too bad this is how she’s characterizing it now.
Odd that she repeated it…almost as if she and India agreed to discuss it in greater detail before the interview.
India’s one of Chuck’s henchmen so anything to bring Meghan down is a win.
A bit debasing that Brooke wants to compare herself to acting like a whore to the activist Meghan at the same age. And India would find that endearing “Oh we were all whores at that age darling!”
The Windsors and their adjacents sure do like their paedophilia.
Here to underline and boldface Blogger’s point about India Hicks being TeamChuck. She’s his goddaughter.
What can I say, we have one of India Hick’s decorating coffee table books. She name drops.
I’m trying to remember what India Hicks has said about Meghan in the past but I’m not sure I even want to bother.
Honestly, it sounds like something Bethenny Frankel would say, and in fact I think I have heard “too precious” come out of her mouth as a criticism before. I’m not curious about who Brooke Shields’ friends are anymore, it’s pretty obvious.
I think Meghan should have a special Archetype podcast for Brooke so they can disscuss how her saying she played a prostitute helped relax the audience. they are 2 different trajectories. I think Meghan’s life story has surpassed the P&G story now, I don’t think She realises how Huge it is to not Bow, Bend & Break to the pressures of an institute like the royal family. What i want to know now is what drove her to get out, and what life experiences taught her she was not in the right place. I know we are not going to get those discussions
Not taking a side on Meghan vs Brooke because I like them both. Women are allowed to disagree or have conflicts without being mortal enemies and we shouldn’t have to choose sides. I do want to give Brooke’s book Brooke Shields Isn’t Allowed to Get Old a shout out; I listened to her read it and as a post-menopausal woman, it really was an awesome listen and highly identifiable.
Discussing and repeating this incident (forgotten until she brought it up) with India Hicks is a massive choice and calling her “precious” devalues Meghan’s achievements and whatever emotions she’s allowed to feel.
Brooke can’t be that ignorant of that whatever Meghan does or doesn’t do becomes amplified and the rats run away with it. The incident with Gwyneth wasn’t so long ago. Is Brooke unaware of that?
Cue the rabid tabloids: “Duchess Pinocchio too precious for Shields!!! In an exclusive interview, the king’s family friend etc etc.”
Now Brooke wants to have a go? Brooke can live with whatever side eye she now gets from people. Brooke should have known better if she liked or even was neutral towards Meghan. But in this case, she doesn’t.
She’s a mean bitch and it’s good to know her true colours are coming out in the Meghan cultural barometer. She can join Justine Bateman and other 80s has-beens who dislike Meghan for being younger and more accomplished.
Ooof.
Talking in a panel on International Women’s Day about women empowerment and interrupting a woman of color after 75 second of a response to a direct question is not a good look. In any context.
Talking about it a year later on Indias podcast with pride – and choosing words clearly used to demean, diminish, and devalue (misogyny 101) women talking about empowering women as “precious” and “too serious” – is toxic.
I really hate when women who consider themselves feminists and champion for cause that are important (as Brooke has done), turn around and show that they are only interested in championing for women like themselves and for issues that effect them. Remember when JK Rowling was an active feminist before she showed her ass? Yeah.
Anyways, I sadly think it was a more base reaction from a narcissist who was pissed that a younger black woman got the first chair position in the panel and was the center of all the beginning questions. Every shot of Brooke she was twitching and clearly itching to be part of the conversation and jonesing to get her own attention.
I remember liking both women on the panel and as I said above it’s kind of disappointing to have Brooke retreading this moment and reframing it to call another woman’s story too precious on a uk podcast. Obviously, Brooke can say what she wants, but no lie I find it tacky and somewhat unkind. The BM’s obsession with mocking Meghan is well-known so it’s a choice to give little nuggets of ammunition. Maybe her friend India’s podcast will get a bump from the cattiness. It certainly was not the rudest or meanest thing to say but it also just felt…unecessary. Gwyneth’s response has really become the gold standard.
It’s completely unkind, and I don’t care who Brooke was aiming it towards, calling another woman’s story “too precious” is entirely bitchy and mean. That’s her lived experience that she was specifically asked a question about, not Meghan randomly commenting on her impact as a child. A CHILD.
This is deeply disappointing from Brooke Shields. I didn’t have her down as a mean girl, especially towards other women.
yeah, I said somewhat unkind. But “too precious” is a choice. It’s just a bummer that a lovely panel event is being revisited like this by Brooke. Is this a cool girl thing cuz I’m baffled.
It doesn’t surprise me that Brooke was on India’s podcast, as they have been friends for years and often feature on each other’s Instagram.
I can imagine she’ll get an honorary damehood from Chuck before he croaks.
I mean a white woman will white woman right? Brooke didn’t have to interrupt Meghan to bring the comedy. But whatever, it would seem Brooke didn’t like that she wasn’t the centre of attention.
Typical actress behavior, can’t share the spotlight!
It doesn’t seem like an interruption though, it did seem like Meg was done talking. And Brooke complimented Meghan by saying “I wish I’d known you back then!”
I thought it was mildly funny evidently people are infuriated by it.
I love Meghan’s P&G story and I also love Brooke’s books about PPD and menopause. They both deserved to be on that panel.
Brooke could have made her quip and avoided the “too precious” dig. But interrupting and hijacking another woman’s time at the microphone is also something she could have easily avoided. I hadn’t known about this side of Ms. Shields.
Neither did I. But now we all do. 😏
Still, it’s not as bad as finding out about Richard Osman on the Meghan Cultural Barometer (TM).
I don’t see how Brooke interrupted. Meghan was finished speaking and put the mic down to indicate it. Brooke could have been a bit gentler with her comeback, but no, she didn’t interrupt.
Brooke could have gone about this better but I get her explanation.
Cutting into interviews with comedic interjects is a common strategy; watch late night interviews and you’ll see the hosts do that constantly.
Sometimes it’s annoying but it helps move along an interview that drags or help the person whose talking to hit the points of the conversation without bogging down with side details.
But as has been pointed out this is an SXSW panel on a serious issue. You have Katie Couric chairing FFS. She doesn’t strike me as the queen of the comedy.
Brooke also didn’t really interrupt her according to the video.
So why is she framing it that she interrupted Meghan because she was too serious and too precious when the video showed neither?
What’s her agenda except to join in the Meghan hatefest with Chuck’s goddaughter?
Agree with blogger. So then what is the point of this if she didn’t interrupt her but is now saying she did bc Meghan was being “too precious”? Like seriously, what are we even doing here?
Brooke Shields is confabulating!!
Why is she doing this? Is she trying to please the host who is constantly criticizing Meghan, or what’s the point?
She didn’t interrupt Meghan at all, but that title sells well in the British media. Is Brooke really a fake woman? She seemed like a nice woman. Meghan finished her statement, but was asked by one of the participants to tell the story about washing up. She said it in a few sentences, put the microphone down, and then Brooke spoke up, talking about the differences, because she played a prostitute at that age.
Now she’s making up and making up words that weren’t there.
Did she take training from Blake Lively?
It’s a Windsor tactic to have the Americans turn against Meghan. India knows her job and let’s face it, British propaganda is one of the best in the world.
It helps that Trump is anti-Meghan compared to Biden (though the FCO pressured them on that point) but there aren’t enough “rational” Hollywood types that are anti-Meghan. You get the deranged Justine Bateman and some MAGA types, but Brooke sits in the middle of the road.
So having someone like Brooke criticise Meghan for being “too precious” will allow others to join the Windsor-instigated Meghan hatefest and hopefully blunt Meghan’s popularity in her HOME country.
When I first read what Brooke did I was angry. I too am tired of the retelling of that soap story by Meghan. But to decide for an adult what they should or shouldn’t share to make their point, in public, is gross. AND then to gloat about your behavior publicly….mean spirited and without decency. Meghan labors under something I have seen in other famous people. That these people do not assume you know who they are or what they have done. A sort of modesty. Example, world famous or face famous people gently introducing themselves to individuals, like everyone in the room doesn’t know exactly who they are. And hadn’t formed a judgement about information they have heard about these famous people. To Brooke, you are known for your face, which allowed you to secure an education….. okay then. Maybe NOW work on being a good person. Instead of allowing yourself to be included in the worldwide pile on of a fellow woman. Because just as we have all heard that story before, we have all also witnessed what has been done to Meghan. You could have politely waited your turn to speak.
It was like, in case you all missed it, remember that time I was rude to Meghan.
Yeah, she retroactively wants credit for being rude, based on who she is talking to, I guess? Who is being “too precious” again? What a suck up, and she has two daughters who learned from her.
Meghan was asked a question, it would have been rude of her not to answer it.
The story is a choice. The framing of the story is a choice. It didn’t play that way in real time when I watched it, but Brook is framing it like she had to jump in and save the panel. And the name-calling is a choice, too. Nobody is saying she has to fall all over herself to say nice things about Meghan, but it also isn’t that hard not to shade another woman on an INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY panel. We are grown, professional women it’s not that hard.
How I agree with this sentiment. It’s really not that hard.
But Brooke has to make a drama of it now, a year later.
Wow. What a bitchy move. Hope this was worth it for her to cackle with India afterwards.
Yeah, I agree, this appeared to be a great panel, at the time. You just have to scratch the surface a little bit to find the assholes. Meghan hate really is like breathing to these people, what a miserable existence. I was a fan of Brooke Shields from all the way back, but no more.
What i recall from that day/weekend:
1) In the live chat section,some squaddies were complaining that it seemed as if Katie Couric was highjacking the panel discussion.
2) I was biting my nails with anxiety, hoping that Meghan wouldn’t mention her father.
3) The queue to attend that panel session was the longest one.
4) The Telegraph had a live reporting on the panel HRH Meghan Sussex was on.
5) That event was the catalyst for KP releasing “the Frakenphoto” (allegedly).
I like Brooke Shields, but i had completely forgotten that she was also there, i thought it was Geena Davis. It is sad and disappointing that she is mentioning something that did not add any value to the conversation that they were having. It is sad and embarrassing that she believes that telling people that she played a teenage prostitute was the most appropriate thing to mention in order to lighten the mood. Why is she talking about some irrelevante thing that most people do not remember? I hope it’s not for clicks, she knows better, right?
I’m not a die hard Meghan, Harry supporter, or of the Royals, or a stan of Taylor or in the Beyhive. I follow these stories casually here. Watch things, read, make my own conclusions. Try to stay in my world and not get too ragey about what is happening in gossip world (this stance obviously does not apply to the political world climates and injustices etc). Try to conserve my energy in this maddening world.
I was prepared to watch Meghan be a bit ‘me me’ and go on about being 11. But her first answer and then her short telling of the story Katie Couric asked her is normal, sweet and to the point! And relevant to the panel topic!
Why did Brooke have to bring up “I was playing a prostitute”? It’s completely irrelevant!. Seems she was triggered by MM relaying a nice wholesome story about being 11.
And to bring it up in a podcast a year later? It’s just weird.
Nb. I am sure playing a prostitute age 11 would very possibly not be a good experience, especially back then when child protection on sets (and elsewhere) would have been very sub par. And she was also sexualised from a very young age
That’s the point. WTF is she bringing this up now?
The last week, we’ve seen the dead prince and dead queen mentioned to despise the Sussexes, and today it’s Brooke. Yesterday was Kinsey.
So it’s either dead people or Americans who have been enlisted this week for “We hate the Sussexes because of XYZ.”
The institutional machinery behind the Sussex hatred industry is magnificent to behold.
Yeah, Brooke was playing a prostitute at age 11 because her “momager” forced her into it. That is completely different from Meghan taking umbrage at a clearly misogynistic TV commercial and having the gumption to write to P&G to complain. When I was in my teens there was a Wrigley’s chewing gum commercial that showed teenagers water skiing — the 2 girls (in tiny bikinis) were filmed constantly falling whereas the 2 young guys were skiing like professionals. At the end the girls are shown with their heads back, mouths wide open with the guys standing over them dropping sticks of gum slowly and suggestively into their mouths and it disgusted me. I wrote to the Mars company and the TV station complaining about how blatantly sexist and sexual it was and the commercial disappeared. That was 55 years ago. So I still tell my story and nobody has called me “too precious or serious”. Also Brooke has a rep for being *difficult*.
Holy crap. I remember that commercial but never thought about it from that perspective. Yikes.
I remember that commercial too, and I completely missed the context before you pointed it out! Gross, and good for you, Jaded!
An 11 year old shouldn’t know about prostitutes let alone play one.
It was Couric who brought up the soap commercial and asked Meghan to repeat it. She calls it an origin story but she didn’t bring it up because she’s talked about it numerous times. That’s all I have to say on that. As for Shields, that’s her take on it. No one was offended that I can recall and the discussion went on. I mean, Shields has gotten in fights with Tom Cruise so some people just want confrontation.
Tom Cruise took shots at Brooke first. Let’s not get it twisted. When he was going on his tirades against psychiatrist prescribed medication on the Today show in 2005. Because Scientologists are taught to hate psychiatrists. As Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was rejected by the psychiatry community for his writings on Scientology and never forgave them for that slight. He wanted their approval.
He called Brooke irresponsible for writing about her postpartum depression and taking antidepressants. No woman should suffer and if medication under a doctor’s care helps a woman. Through depression or post partum depression that’s what should be done. Not suffer in silence. Tom Cruise had no business speaking about her mental health. He also apologized to her.
Sorry, I just hate Scientology and what he said was outrageous and reckless.
In this case, Brooke was completely within her rights to call out Tom Cruise for his scientology idiocy — hopefully the admins allow me to post this article from the Journal of Clinical Investigation in retaliation to his utterly baseless opinion on psychiatry and the treatment of certain disorders with medication — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1180571/
To this day, I have never heard Meghan naming someone and speaking negatively or even in a catty manner behind their back. Other than her experiences with royal family and the tabloid press, when she name drops, and she name drops a lot, it is always in a complimentary tone. So I don’t understand what Brooke Shields is doing here.
I mean she compared her botched box dye job to Elvira’s inky black hair… the gall! lol And how did Elvira take it, as the joke it was.
Brooke Shields is certainly entitled to feel however she wants to about Meghan but I have to say unless she was the creator or moderator of this particular panel/event/what have you, I see no reason why she would feel the need to interject or change the tone of Meghan’s remarks then pride herself on doing so afterwards. If someone did this to me I would find it strange.
Whatever, though.
Ok used to like Brooke Shuelds but this shows her true colors.
Ewwwww. Enough had been said above about Meghan’s short and to the point response to Katie’s question.
As for the venue I’ve spoken at SxSW idk maybe 4-5 times? There’s no need to lighten the mood- especially on panels geared towards women.
All we have learned here is that Brooke can’t handle Meghan’s star power or earnestness, that BS felt compelled to lie about the facts even tho video shows us there was no long winded story or interruption, and that BS is a shill for the monarchy.
Cool cool cool. All her PPD and menopause work gone down the toilet for me. Eff this B.
I admire both women (and Katie Couric, of course!).
I don’t get the Brooke hate. Kaiser made a great point about multiple things being true at once. Did Brooke overstep? Most likely. Is she possibly a narcissistic actress? Isn’t everyone in that sphere, including Meghan?
Meghan has done so many wonderful things through her endorsements and charities and as a female entrepreneur. Brooke has also done wonderful things as union president and through her PPD and menopause work.
Let’s not cancel people over something that should not be an issue.
Sooo, I think most people are talking about why she’s bringing it up in this way on a BM platform. Bc apparently the video shows that she didn’t even interrupt Meghan. Not one person has said CANCEL BROOKE SHIELDS. But a lot of us have expressed disappointment and disgust at how she framed the IWD panel. We’re allowed to do that without being lectured about cancel culture. Jaded above reminded that Brooke Shields had every right to speak out against Tom Cruise. If you look back at articles about Brooke on this site, no one is super hating on her and have been pretty supportive. But in this case, we’re allowed to say this was and unkind an uncool thing to say. Bc it was.
Katie “I didn’t help the women I worked with because I didn’t want them to succeed “ Couric?
Ok then.
This is insulting to Katie and to Meghan. Katie was in charge of leading the panel. She brought up the issue and Meghan succinctly answered. For Brooke to feel she had to jump in to “change the tone” or “lighten up” things or whatever during a serious discussion of women’s issue changes me from indifferent about her to disliking her.
I’m Meghan’s age and I have a clear memory of the commercial changing from “women everywhere” (women throw dish-cleaning gloves off) to “people everywhere” (women still throw dish-cleaning gloves off). It was national news that a little girl had complained and affected this change — however irritatingly minor and seemingly insubstantial, as the voiceover was only slightly modified and rerecorded. But it was a lesson that using your voice really does matter, and we should be as bold, fearless, and gregarious as we were as 11-year olds.
I get that Brooke Shields might’ve been pointing out, at the time, that many children aren’t afforded that same sense of independence and autonomy, but reframing her own comment as “look at me, taking the wind of out her sails for the good of the collective” is sh*tbird behavior.
Eh. I remember the panel and while Meghan did a great job and I love the story, it is a bit precious and Brooke Shields has been very clear about how messed up being a child star was during that time period, especially with her mom’s alcoholism. Also, during the panel, it was totally appropriate to insert the joke as Brooke was giving serious “auntie” vibes vs attempting to downplay Meghans activism at a young age.
As for the reason to bring up the anecdotal interaction on her friends podcast? I think this thread is the reason… free pr.
Sorry, I don’t think Brooke is giving “auntie” vibes in this situation. It’s more the bringing it up in retrospect and then characterizing it like this to the BM. It’s just like okay thx Brooke for letting the BM know you thought Meghan was being too precious in her answer to a question that Katie Couric asked. And I’m saying this as someone who enjoyed Brooke at the panel. Bring up my comments from a year ago and you can probably find it. So is it free pr for Brooke or for her friend India’s podcast or both? Idk but it’s giving ick either way. Some pr.
I like both ladies, but Brooke clearly didn’t like being left out while Meghan answered Katies question. Brooke is being defensive. There was nothing ‘precious’ whatsoever about Meghan answering Katies question.
As someone who has worked on organizing corporate panels. None of these questions and answers are spontaneous. And answers are very scripted to the topic. So the conversation flows. Brooke knew she would have her block of time to discuss herself. And she probably knew when Meghan would tell the childhood story. I think she had that ‘joke’ locked and loaded to go. Thinking it would put the spotlight back on her when it wasn’t her time on the panel. Just very icky and punching down of Brooke.
Dear Brooke, playing a child prostitute at age 11 isn’t a flex.
It was very damaging for her, being hyper sexualized and forced into situations. She’s discussed it in depth.
Doesn’t excuse centring herself in Meghan’s answer period, just some background about the movie.
Heads up y’all! India Hicks is the daughter of Lady Pamela Mountbatten and was a bridesmaid in July, 1981. Lady Pamela is Louis Mountbatten’s daugher, you know, honorary godfather to Phillip and honorary grandfather to Charles. So Brooke is pandering to the audience.
How very Karen of her.
Interesting that she decided to lighten the mood on Meghan. When it was not needed or asked for. I don’t even think what Meghan was saying was that heavy. She was a child that saw gender inequality and moved to change it. When I was 11 I was making mudpies in my backyard. Also, actually watching the whole video no, the crowd did not go insane. It was more awkward laughter. Since it wasn’t even really funny. Just Brooke having to remind people she did movies once.
Then Brooke delves into heavy subjects herself. Which unironically was about herself and Pretty Baby. Her Senior Thesis at Princeton was about Pretty Baby. She wrote her thesis centered about herself. I don’t think it gets much more narcissistic than that.
I didn’t see Meghan interjecting ‘jokes’ on Brooke. If anything, I am impressed how gracefully Meghan handled it. I also think Brooke has this obsessive need to remind people she was once a big movie star. Those days are long gone Brooke.
I expected better of Brooke.